DEIAR Mission Statement

Return to DEIAR homepage

The Department of Geographical Sciences and the University of Maryland College Park acknowledges that it conducts its teaching, mentorship, administrative, and much of its research activities on Indigenous land.

We further recognize that the discipline of geography and its related fields has a problematic and painful history of supporting and benefiting from colonialism, imperialism, racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination.

We commit as a Department to work together to overcome systemic racism, discrimination and oppression, to model an inclusive scholarly community built on respect for one another, and to build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive Department and discipline.

Science is hard, and the work of making sure science isn't harder than it needs to be is on all of us. We create our culture, and at UMD Geographical Sciences, our culture is inclusive.

We value the participation of every member of our community and want to ensure that every department member and collaborator has a positive, educational experience unhindered by unnecessary challenges caused by non-inclusive behavior. Accordingly, everyone who participates in the Department of Geographical Sciences is expected to show respect and courtesy to other community members at all times.

All department members will be dedicated to a harassment and discrimination-free experience for everyone. Discrimination or harassment based on racial or ethnic background, citizenship status, religion (or lack thereof), political affiliation, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, dis/ability status, appearance or body size will not be tolerated. We do not tolerate harassment or discrimination by and/or of members of our community in any form.

We are particularly motivated to support new and/or anxious collaborators, people who are looking to learn and develop their skills, and anyone who has experienced discrimination in the past.

To make clear what is expected, we ask all Department members of the community to conform to the following Code of Conduct.

  • All communication - online and in person - should be appropriate for a professional audience including people of many different backgrounds. Sexual or discriminatory language and imagery is not appropriate at any time.
  • Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down other contributors.
  • Behave professionally. Remember that harassment and sexist, racist, ableist, xenophobic, or otherwise biased or exclusionary jokes are not appropriate.
  • Make an effort to make an inclusive environment for everyone. Give everyone a chance to talk and an opportunity to contribute.
  • Aim to prioritize accessibility as a proactive measure, not an accommodations response.
  • Watch out for microaggressions. Be aware that your actions can be hurtful to others or contribute to a negative environment even if you had no intent of harm. Listen. Offer a genuine apology. Commit to learning and doing better.
    • Microaggressions are defined as the everyday, subtle, intentional — and oftentimes unintentional — interactions or behaviors that communicate some sort of bias toward historically marginalized groups.
    • The difference between microaggressions and overt discrimination or macroaggressions, is that people who commit microagressions might not even be aware of them.
  • “See Something, Say Something”: We all have a part to play in fostering a safe environment, so if you see someone causing harm, please report it.

To report an issue please contact the Chair; if the issue is with the Chair, please contact the Associate Chair; if the issue is with the Associate Chair, please contact the Ombudsman. All communication will be treated as confidential.  If inappropriate behavior persists after a discussion with the first contacted individual (Chair, Associate Chair, or Ombudsman), the issue will be escalated according to procedures laid out by the relevant entities in Bias Incident Support Services.

For incidents of sexual assault/harassment, please report the incident to the Office of Civil Rights and Sexual Misconduct. For incidents of bias/hate/racism, please report the incident to Belonging & Community at UMD. For filing general complaints about faculty, supervisors, or other issues, please use the University of Maryland Ombuds Services.

 

Note: Some of the material in this code of conduct is derived from the Bahlai Code of Conduct, which is in turn derived from the "Whitaker Lab Project Management" by Dr. Kirstie Whitaker and the Whitaker Lab team, used under CC BY 4.0. Bahlai Lab Code of conduct is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by Dr. Christie Bahlai. We thank Dr. Bahlai for providing this valuable and useful resource.